Phil Jagielka

Philip Nikodem Jagielka (/jəˈɡjɛlkə/ yə-GYEL-kə[5][6] or /ˌdʒæɡiˈɛlkə/ JAG-ee-EL-kə;,[7][8] Polish: Filip Jagiełka; born 17 August 1982) is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre-back.

He played for Holy Family Football Club, a Sunday team affiliated with, although not directly linked to, the school of the same name, from the ages of eight to 11.

[12][13] Jagielka made his way through the youth ranks at Sheffield United before making his first-team debut on 5 May 2000 against Swindon Town in the final First Division match of the 1999–2000 season, whilst still a trainee.

Jagielka gave United their first Premier League victory since April 1994 when he hit a 91st minute half-volley against Middlesbrough for a 2–1 win in September 2006.

[21] Despite being recognised as one of United's key players, chairman Kevin McCabe admitted that Jagielka could be sold if the price was high enough.

[23] Warnock wrote in The Independent that "He's a very competent keeper, but he's the sort of bloke who'd be world class at tiddlywinks", and that he preferred to put Jagielka in goal rather than use a substitution that could be used for an attacking change instead.

[28] Jagielka eventually signed for Everton on 4 July 2007, in a deal worth £4 million on a five-year contract,[29] the highest amount paid for a Sheffield United player at the time.

[30] He made his home debut at Goodison Park on 31 July 2007 as a second-half substitute in a pre-season friendly against Werder Bremen, replacing Joseph Yobo in central defence.

[32] Jagielka started the 2008–09 season as first-choice centre-back, playing every minute of every league match until being injured in a 2–1 home defeat to Manchester City.

[35] Soon afterwards he ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament playing against Manchester City, and as a consequence missed the 2009 FA Cup final,[36] which Everton lost to Chelsea.

After missing the end of the 2008–09 season and more than half of 2009–10, Jagielka played his first senior fixture since the cruciate ligament injury in an away match against Sporting CP in the UEFA Europa League in February 2010, coming on as a substitute for an injured Philippe Senderos.

[38] In April 2013, manager David Moyes announced that Jagielka would be appointed as the club captain for the 2013–14 season after the retirement of Phil Neville.

[41] On 27 September 2014, Jagielka scored his first goal in two seasons with a 30-yard half volley against Liverpool in the Merseyside derby to level the match in the 91st minute.

[42] On 6 November 2014, Jagielka scored his first European goal in seven years in Everton's 3–0 UEFA Europa League group stage win against Lille.

[44] Jagielka reclaimed his place as Everton's starting centre-back in March 2017 after Ramiro Funes Mori suffered a knee injury on international duty.

[49] After finding himself on the periphery of the Everton first team for most of the 2018–19 season, an illness to Michael Keane in the warm-up before a match against Arsenal on 7 April 2019 saw Jagielka replace him in the starting line-up.

[69] Jagielka was once again named in the England squad for the friendly match against European champions Spain, 11 February 2009, and subsequently played for the first 45 minutes, after an impressive string of performances at club level publicly praised by manager David Moyes after the FA Cup fourth round replay tie between Everton and Liverpool.

[79] He scored his second England goal on 30 May 2014 to wrap up a 3–0 friendly win over Peru at Wembley, reacting after goalkeeper Raúl Fernández dropped a corner from Jagielka's Everton teammate Leighton Baines.

[81] Jagielka scored his third England goal, and first in a competitive fixture, on 9 October 2014; his header opened a 5–0 Wembley win over San Marino in UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying.

Jagielka playing for Everton in 2011
Jagielka playing for Everton in 2014